NYBG Orchid Show: Chandeliers

Last Sunday I went to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx for its annual Orchid Show, which is usually held every March to third week of April. I've been going for several years now, my way of celebrating my Mom's beautiful spirit. We lost her one beautiful March day.

It was already starting to snow when I arrived at the garden. The orchid show is housed in the Enid Haupt Conservatory, it looked so pretty in the snow.

The Conservatory also houses tropical plants and desert plants, and plants from the rainforests, among others. You have to go through all these displays before the main attraction.

This year's Orchid Show has the theme "Chandeliers". The centerpiece of the show is a spectacular three-tiered flower chandelier that overflowed with the blooms. It was a hit with all visitors and I enjoyed seeing everyone's reactions.

Standing under the center of the giant flower chandelier, I had this incredible view. I could stand here forever!

It was a joy to see most of my favorite orchids. There's cymbidium in many different colors. I like this one, looks like an unusual color for an orchid.

I love the moth orchids, some of them come in solid colors, some with stripes, others with spots, all beautiful.

Mom's favorite has always been the anthurium. It is red and shaped like a heart, and seeing one always reminds me of her great love for us.

The weather outside was frightful but it was so delightful inside the Conservatory. The pretty dancing ladies made me forget the non-stop snow blowing outside.

I hope seeing these pretty flowers have somehow chased your winter blues away. Thank you New York Botanical Garden, I had a wonderful time and enjoyed the Orchid Show.

Now, we just need these flowers to call out to Mother Nature to let Spring come early this year. Everyone agree?

For the rest of my photos on the Orchid Show, click on the link to my Flickr album: NYBG 2015 Orchid Show

The Great Saunter 2014 - West Side

Last May 3 I joined the Shorewalkers group for The Great Saunter, a day long hike that explores Manhattan’s 32-mile shoreline, visiting more than 20 parks and promenades of Manhattan Island.

We walked along the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, a foreshoreway for walking or cycling around the island of Manhattan. It is separated from motor traffic, and many sections also separate pedestrians from cyclists. There are three principal parts - the East, Harlem and Hudson River Greenways. This post features walking along the Hudson River Greenway, which covers the west side of the greenway.

The Great Saunter started with a registration at the Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan but I was late as there were a lot of changes to my train schedule due to the train derailment the day before. I got off at the City Hall Station and had this great view of the new and the old New York on a beautiful spring day.

I hurried to Battery Park City so I could join the group and passed by Tom Otterness' The Real World at the Nelson Rockefeller Park.

I joined the group as they turned north on the pedestrian path of the Hudson River Park. New Jersey was shining across the river that morning.

Near the Meatpacking District we passed by the New Whitney Museum which is still under construction. It is slated to open in spring of 2015.

For the 2014 Whitney Biennial, it's only offsite piece was The Artists Monument by Tony Tasset, which can be found just a little further from the museum's future home.

The multicolored acrylic panels that adorn Tasset’s Artists Monument are etched with the names of 392,486 modern and contemporary artists, ranging from Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol to emerging artists with a single exhibition to their credit. By building this pointedly horizontal monument in public space, with the artists’ names listed alphabetically and the colors arranged randomly, Tasset symbolically flattens the hierarchies that exist between lauded and unknown artists and instead celebrates the entire community.

We also passed by a ghost bike, a project of the New York City Street Memorial Project. Last April 6 was the 9th Annual Memorial Ride to honor the memories of those who died on the city's streets. 

I stopped near Pier 83 for a late registration for the walk. Pier 83 is home to Circle Line offering sight-seeing cruises and charters. I also featured Pier 83 in a previous post featuring my walk along the West Side Highway.

After the registration I got my participant number, a map, a cap and water .. all I need to continue with the Great Saunter. We were walking northbound and on our left running parallel to the West Side Highway is Hudson River Park, which was looking lovely that spring morning.

According to the park website an expansion of its northern end is currently underway which will help create an improved physical and visual connection with Riverside Park South on the Upper West Side. That is something to look forward to! 

Across the West Side Highway is the future Space New York —megaclub Space Ibiza‘s first U.S. outpost, the current structure features a huge mural by Spanish graffiti-artist Belin.

By the mid-morning we were at the southern end of Riverside Park South. Spring really brings out the best in the city's parks.

Our walk also caught the tail end of this year’s Model 2 Monument public art exhibit at the park, which was on view only until May 15. The exhibit is the third in a five-part partnership between the Art Students League and the New York Parks Department. Here's one of them Preservation: High and Dry by Anna Kuchel Rabinowitz.

The crabapple trees lining the Riverwalk path along Riverside Park were blooming, and I could see the George Washington Bridge in the distance.

The end of the Riverwalk marks the start of Cherry Walk, which is the northernmost part of the park.

The Cherry Walk extends along the river from 100th to 125th Street. In 1909 the Committee of Japanese Residents of New York presented 2,000 cherry trees as a gift to the City. Some surviving trees of the original planting of 700, part of the same batch of trees planted in Washington, D.C.’s Tidal Basin, can be found along this stretch of Riverside Park.

I have written about walking in spring along the Cherry Walk in two previous blog posts, it's always a lovely experience being surrounded by the pink and white blossoms as you walk along the greenway.

As we exited Cherry Walk, the pathway led to the West Harlem Piers Park. The public art installations in the park are by New York artist Nari Ward, the stainless steel mosaic sculptures reference the eyelet guide found on fishing poles.

Still going forward north, we walked along the street level of Riverbank State Park. I remember when I was here last year, at the upper level of the park, looking for the Sing For Hope piano. The upper level of the park has great views of the New Jersey Palisades and the George Washington Bridge.

North of the Riverbank State Park is Fort Washington Park which has a newly renovated playground. The park has one of the best views of the George Washington Bridge.

Under the George Washington Bridge is the Little Red Lighthouse. It is open only five times a year, every second Saturday of June to October. Here is a previous post about my visit to the lighthouse two years ago.

As we followed the greenway from back to where it runs parallel to the Henry Hudson Parkway, I could see the retaining wall of Castle Village. It looked like it was recently tagged, although it boggles the mind where these street artists perched just so they can create their brand of art.

We also passed by the Pumpkin House, it got its name from the shape of its lighted windows and the orange glow of sunset so that it resembles a jack-o'-lantern especially at dusk.

A few yards later, we reached the Inspiration Point Shelter, looking pretty in white. I first saw it a couple of years ago after some research on the Fort Tryon arches. It has great views, too, of the palisades and the George Washington Bridge. For more photos of the shelter, check out my previous post about my walk to the structure.

A little further across the Inspiration Point Shelter, the arches of Fort Tryon Park stand out. If ever you're in the area, I am definitely recommending a visit to the park.

From the greenway, I could see the park at street level but there is so much more to see at the upper level. The gardens are beautiful, and aside from the arches, the park also houses The Cloisters, the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe.

We're now on the last leg of our walk along the Hudson River Greenway, I could see the road stretch out all the way to Inwood Hill Park where we had a break for lunch and a little rest.

From the parkway level, we had to go down to the local street level to access the park's southern section.

This was the scene I saw as we entered Inwood Hill Park, a great spring day should include kite flying.

I was busy looking at the pretty leaves of the trees and looking forward to resting my tired feet so I forgot to look for and take a picture of Shorakkopoch Rock in the park.  Good thing I wrote about it in a previous post.

Took this pic just before we reached our rest area in the park. Inwood Hill Park, like the other parks we passed earlier that day, was blooming in spring colors.

After lunch and rest, we resumed our walk this time along the east side of Manhattan. That walk is covered on Part 2 of this blog.

Did you enjoy walking along the Hudson River Greenway with me?

For the rest of my photos during the Great Saunter, here's the album on Flickr - The Great Saunter, 05.03.14 

Big Egg Hunt Adventures - Part 2

This is a continuation of my Big Egg Hunt adventures. Part 1 covered Days 1 to 5 of the egg hunt, so I'll start this blog with Day 6, which was a Sunday.

Good thing I kept up with the Big Egg Hunt on social media so I knew where to look for Egg 9 or the Waldo egg. Egg 9 by Martin Handford is the one egg hidden in plain sight in a different place each day. That Sunday he was at the Time Warner Center, in the area were the miniature eggs were displayed. Great to see you, Waldo!

After checking with Waldo, I proceeded with my usual weekend walk in Central Park. The Pond area was starting to pop up with spring colors!

And the turtles were out at The Lake enjoying the sunny day.

And when I arrived by The Boathouse, guess what I saw? A cute little mouse on top of Egg 117!

I ended my walk in the park to walk along the Upper East Side section of Madison Avenue where a lot of stores house eggs. One of these stores is Cynthia Rowley. Can you spot Egg 129?

As it was a Sunday, some of the places with eggs were closed, like the Gagosian gallery which housed three eggs. I just had to content myself with a picture taken from the door.

And the show window of Ladurée, which housed Isabelle Arpagian's Egg 85, was also closed when I passed by. Luckily, the nice staff opened the window cover so I can take a shot of the Empress II nestled among the baked goodies.

I went back to Madison Avenue on Day 7 as there were still some eggs I haven't cracked. This was Egg 107, if you look closely, you'll see the material used in the design is connected to its hiding place. The egg was displayed in the show window of Beretta and it is adorned with bullets!

I also passed by this sculpture and its accompanying plaque partly read that this sculpture was cast in bronze from the original plaster sculpture by Frederic- Auguste Bartholdi and was enlarged 16 times by the artist to create the Statue of Liberty in the New York Harbor.

Then it's on to the colorful Egg 92 which blended very well with the candies inside Dylan's Candy Bar.

The rain that night made the Golden Lincoln Cent Egg shine all the more. Jane Morgan's Egg 6 utilized the newly minted Lincoln cent.

A few blocks away, the Helmsley Building was reflecting a similar copper hue in the rain.

At week 2 of the egg hunt, there were still some eggs not cracked. These were mostly the 24 eggs made by public school students participating in Studio programs. The eggs were hosted by NYRP's community gardens.

On Day 8, I went to the NYRP community garden in Queens to crack Egg 219. I was the ninth person to crack the egg and that earned me a place in the egg's Egg Cracker Honor Roll. Cool! Egg 219 looked cool, too. I love strawberries!

I went to Manhattan afterwards as there were still some eggs in hidden in midtown that I haven't cracked yet. Inside a building on Third Avenue near 47th Street were three eggs, one of them was Egg 104, one of my faves. Made by Brooklyn Design and Fabrication, the egg looked like a dresser.

I then made my way to Fifth Avenue to take a picture of Egg 271 by Jeff Koons. When I was in Rockefeller Center the first day of the hunt, they were still setting up this egg. The egg broke records as the most expensive work sold on Paddle 8, it has attracted over $420,000 in online bids for the auction.

A little further on 43rd Street was Egg 78. It was inside its case just along the sidewalk and I missed it the first time I passed by. I walked by and didn't notice the egg until I crossed the street and saw it. Literally hidden in plain sight!

Then on 41st Street was Egg 280 by spray paint artist Chor Boogie. The design echoed the artist's work at the building very near where the egg was hidden.

That artwork by Chor Boogie is part of Art Battles which can also be seen at 5 Bryant Park. When I passed by that night, Don Rimx was working on another wall.

The following day I tried to finish cracking the eggs in midtown Manhattan. First stop was the Empire State Building which housed two egg, one of which is Egg 23, a replica of a real Faberge egg, the mosaic egg which is one of four Faberge eggs among the Royal Collection of Britain's Queen Elizabeth ll.

Then it's on to several locations near the area, one of which is the Ace Hotel where I saw Egg 7 by Shantell Martin. The egg came with a backdrop of the same design.

It was just a short walking distance to Madison Square Park where there were a lot of eggs around the plaza area near the park. The park is in the Flatiron District and Egg 274 by Romero Britto was right in front of the iconic building.

 

Also in the area was Egg 256 by Theo Rosenblum, it looked like an asteroid!

I stayed in the park until night fell. The Met Life Tower looked great in the early evening light.

I was also able to visit Ivan Navarro's “This Land is Your Land”, the art installation in Madison Square Park featuring three 8-foot-tall water towers filled with neon lights and mirrors that reflect the words “me,” “we” and “bed” to visitors walking beneath them. It was on display until April 13. 

Remember I mentioned in my previous blog about meeting the artist of Egg 36? I knew that egg was in the Madison Square Park area so I looked for it. Taking Flight by Echo Design was inspired by the iconic butterfly print scarf of their 90th anniversary collection. Too bad it was already dark when I took the pic, but still the butterflies stood out. Beautiful!

I then walked east towards Baruch College, there were three eggs in the plaza outside the library. One of them was Egg 57 or the iStorm. It looked like thousand of eyes were staring back at me.

My last stop that night was at the Riverpark, a garden plaza overlooking FDR Drive. Egg 171 sure had one of the best views of the East River.

I was in lower Manhattan on Day 10. Egg 123  by Martha Stewart was inside a golden cage displayed inside a shop that was already closed when I passed by.

Egg 247, Jackie Tsai's porcelain skull egg was displayed at the Todd Merrill Studio gallery, which was also closed when I passed by. This link shows the intricate process how this beautiful egg was made.

Along Elizabeth Street were several eggs. British street artist D*Face made Egg 184 which was inside the Elizabeth Street Garden, too bad it was already dark when I took the pic.

Day 11 was a Friday and that day my egg map crashed. I couldn't access the map which made it very hard to look for the eggs. What I did was went to the MacLaren shop in Soho as I knew there were four eggs inside the shop. Unfortunately the shop was already closed when I arrived so I took a photo of just one of the eggs facing the shop window.

Since it was hard to hunt for the eggs without the egg map, I went home early. On my way home I passed by the landmarked Puck Building.

The building sports two gilded statues by sculptor Henry Baerer of Shakespeare's character Puck, from A Midsummer's Night Dream, one on the northeast corner at Houston and Mulberry, and one over the main entrance on Lafayette.

This recaps the second part of my adventures in egg hunting. I'll try to finish the last part in the next few days.

You can check out 200 of the eggs that I cracked in my Flickr album The Big Egg Hunt NY or if you want to see the 232 eggs in my basket, they're all in Google+.